Mobility
Santiago is updating its public transit
system. The Chilean capital has
rolled out 203 electric buses since
December, with about 180 more due in
October. The government has touted
the buses’ lower operating costs and
contribution to cleaner air. Commuters,
Transport Minister Gloria Hutt has
said, “feel the journey is much better.”
�Photographs by Tamara MerinoFully charging
one bus takes2.5
hoursA terminal in
Peñalolén,
Santiago, has65
chargers; the
station was
constructed by
power supplier
Enel X38
◼ SOLUTIONS3.77 million-square-foot Skycity, scheduled to open
in 2023, will be the biggest mall in a city full of them.
New World wants to capitalize on Skycity’s location
at the airport as well as a new 55-kilometer (34.2-mile)
bridge and tunnel linking Hong Kong to Macao and the
southern Chinese city of Zhuhai to make the complex a
regional entertainment hub.
As Asian cities look ahead to the next quarter-century
of air travel, many in the West are struggling to maintain
old infrastructure. In London the government hopes to
win approval in 2021 to build a £14 billion ($17 billion) third
runway at Heathrow Airport—Europe’s busiest—nearly
two decades after Tony Blair’s government proposed it.
Critics have included Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who
promised in 2015 to lie down in front of bulldozers to stop
construction. The Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey has proposed about $24 billion in spending to
address the overcrowding and disrepair that make John
F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International,
and LaGuardia airports among the least-liked by travel-
ers. “In Europe and North America, some of the biggest
challenges are maintenance of things built in the 1950s
that are falling apart,” says Hirsh. “Asia has an advantage:
It’s not weighed down by old infrastructure.”
Asian airports are taking the lead in relying more on
revenue from consumers, not airlines. Both the Singapore
and Hong Kong airports generate about half of their rev-
enue from retailing and other nonaeronautical activi-
ties, and South Korea’s Incheon International generates
about two-thirds. That compares with the global average
of 40%, according to the Airports Council International,
an industry association based in Montreal.
It’s too soon to know whether the projections for
increased air travel are overly upbeat. The U.S.-China
trade war, regional political tensions, and slowing global
economic growth could ground some potential flyers.
“There will be duplication of facilities,” says National
University’s Tan. “It can become a white elephant.”
At the same time, the impact of global climate change
could curb the aviation industry’s growth. Many of Asia’s
new airport cities are located in coastal areas, putting
them at risk from rising sea levels and rainstorm-related
flooding. Hong Kong’s airport, built on land reclaimed from
the sea, is especially vulnerable, says Chinese University’s
Ng. “Building bigger and bigger airports—and creating
more and more greenhouse gases—will just heighten the
problems we are facing,” she says. “We are on the path of
no return, and we are not stopping. We are accelerating.”
�Bruce Einhorn, Michael Tighe, and Wendy HuTHE BOTTOM LINE Beijing’s new airport is one of several projects planned
to accommodate a surge in Asia-Pacific air travel. Demand in the region is
projected to surpass that of North America and Europe combined by 2037.